What are icons?

They can benefit users by signposting recognised actions, wayfinding through content or being a bigger target for users to interact with.

Why we made the icon pattern

We spent time researching how icons were being used in the Home Office and across government, meeting teams and looking at their research to understand what needs icons were meeting, particularly for internal services.

Our research was primarily qualitative. We found a lot of inconsistency in what and how icons were used, which caused issues with both perception and expectation. This was making services harder to use and increasing cognitive load, as seen elsewhere in government services.

‘I need to know more about what the icons mean - is there a legend?’

However, we also found a significant number of instances where icons helped users find and process tasks faster and easier, for instance signing out, navigating and interrogating data.

Using icons

We recommend using icons when there is a clear user need and to conduct many types of tests during the life of the product, both in and out of context of the product. We will continue to research in and out of context to ensure that when icons are used, they are understood and meet user needs.

Remember, design should be invisible. If it isn’t, maybe it shouldn’t be there.